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Florida is bracing for the landfall of category five Hurricane Milton, as officials have pleaded with residents to follow evacuation orders.

Given the potential destruction of the storm, President Joe Biden postponed an upcoming trip to Germany and Angola in order to oversee preparations for the storm – in addition to the ongoing response to Hurricane Helene.

“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century, and God-willing it won’t be, but it’s looking like that right now,” Mr Biden said.

He added: “I just don’t think I can be out of the country at this time.”

Hurricane Milton: What we know so far
Hurricane Milton: Latest updates

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Long lines of traffic as Florida evacuates

‘We haven’t seen a storm like this in a lifetime’

Florida governor Ron De Santis said on Tuesday morning: “Now is the time to execute your [evacuation] plan … but that time is running out.”

His office declared a state of emergency for some of the worst affected areas.

A similar one was later declared in parts of Georgia too.

State workers rushed to clear debris from Hurricane Helene as evacuation orders are in place for over one million people in Florida’s west-coast counties.

A message is seen outside of an apartment in the Davis Islands community of Tampa, Florida. Pic: AP
Image:
A message is seen outside of an apartment in the Davis Islands community of Tampa, Florida. Pic: AP

Residents are in a race against time to clear up debris from Hurricane Helene, which officials warned could be turned into projectiles by Hurricane Milton. Pic: AP
Image:
Residents are in a race against time to clear up debris from Hurricane Helene, which officials warned could be turned into projectiles by Hurricane Milton. Pic: AP

Pic: Goes-East/Noaa/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Catastrophic Hurricane Milton Creeps Toward Florida, Gulf of Mexico, United States - 08 Oct 2024
Dawn view of Hurricane Milton, currently a catastrophic Category 4 hurricane with winds of 155 mph, continues to churn across the Gulf of Mexico heading for Florida, shown on the GOES-East satellite at 10:09 GMT, October 8, 2024 North of The Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

8 Oct 2024
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Hurricane Milton heading toward Florida. Pic: Goes-East/Noaa/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Workers board up a grocery store to protect it from Hurricane Milton, in Progreso, Mexico. Pic: AP
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Workers board up a grocery store to protect it from Hurricane Milton, in Progreso, Mexico. Pic: AP

Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News: “You have to evacuate, it [Hurricane Milton] is not survivable.”

Such is the power of Hurricane Milton that, despite forecasters expecting it to weaken before landfall, it could land a once-in-a-century hit on the cities of Tampa and St Petersburg, engulfing the regions with possibly deadly storm surges.

“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa mayor Jane Castor told a Monday news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”

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Weatherman tearful over ‘horrific’ hurricane

In an interview with CNN on Monday, Ms Castor was even more blunt.

She told the US outlet: “I can say without any dramatisation whatsoever: if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die.”

A person rides his bike through a flooded street in the rain in Progreso, Yucatan state, Mexico. Pic: AP
Image:
A person rides his bike through a flooded street in the rain in Progreso, Yucatan state, Mexico. Pic: AP

Pasco County is located on Florida’s west coast and its director of emergency management Andrew Fossa echoed the warnings from other officials.

He said: “I hate to say it like this – Pasco County’s going to get a black eye from this one.

“We haven’t seen a storm like this in a lifetime.”

Amid the warnings from state officials, federal authorities are also readying their response to the hurricane.

White House spokesperson Emilie Simons said the Biden administration has established two staging bases stocked with 20 million meals and 40 million litres of water and has nearly 900 staff members in the region.

A boarded-up store remains open for now ahead of Hurricane Milton. Pic: AP
Image:
A boarded-up store remains open for now ahead of Hurricane Milton. Pic: AP

A couple sits on the beach as Hurricane Milton advances past Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on its way to Florida.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
A couple sits on the beach as Hurricane Milton advances past Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on its way to Florida.
Pic: Reuters

Roads clogged in face of 12ft storm surges

The hurricane is expected to come close to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula en route to striking Florida’s densely populated coast late on Wednesday or early Thursday.

Once there, forecasters warned the storm could bring eight to 12ft (2.4-3.6m) storm surges, leading to further possible evacuation orders being issued along the Gulf Coast.

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The projected route of Hurricane Milton

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A stream of vehicles headed north on Interstate 75, the main road on the west side of the peninsula, as residents followed evacuation orders.

Meanwhile, traffic clogged up the southbound lanes of the road for miles as others headed for the relative safety of Fort Lauderdale and Miami on the other side of the state.

Air travel fared no better as by Tuesday afternoon, almost 700 flights had been cancelled, with that figure expected to rise as more than 1,500 flights scheduled for Wednesday were also cancelled, according to flight tracking data provider FlightAware.

President Joe Biden speaks about the federal government response to Hurricane Helene and preparations for Hurricane Milton. Pic: Reuters
Image:
President Joe Biden speaks about the federal government response to Hurricane Helene and preparations for Hurricane Milton. Pic: Reuters

Several airports have said they are pausing operations ahead of the hurricane’s landfall, as Orlando International Airport, one of the busiest in the US, said it would close on Wednesday morning, while Tampa International said it was closed on Tuesday.

Florida’s Department of Corrections said it had evacuated 4,636 inmates, while the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned if people didn’t evacuate on Tuesday “there will likely not be enough time to wait to leave on Wednesday”.

Meanwhile, energy companies in Florida began shutting down their pipelines and fuel-delivery terminals ahead of landfall.

Even some of Florida’s world-famous tourist attractions weren’t immune from the hurricane, with both Disney World and Universal Orlando among the theme parks set to close.

Sofia Andreeva and her uncle Ivaylo Kanchev board up their home in St Petersburg, Florida. Pic: Reuters
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Sofia Andreeva and her uncle Ivaylo Kanchev board up their home in St Petersburg, Florida. Pic: Reuters

People prepare sandbags ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton, in Orlando, Florida, U.S. October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
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People prepare sandbags ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton, in Orlando, Florida. Pic: Reuters

200mph gusts

The storm took experts by surprise in how quickly it intensified.

In less than two days, Hurricane Milton went from just forming a tropical storm with winds of 40mph to a chart-busting Category five hurricane – before getting even stronger with gusts said to be over 200mph.

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After weakening to a Category four hurricane, the NHC said on Tuesday that Hurricane Milton had rebounded in intensity back to a Category five hurricane once more, and was forecast to remain “extremely dangerous” until landfall even if it did weaken again.

The huge storm comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene claimed over 200 lives, and left debris littered across the state – which Ms Castor said she fears Hurricane Milton could use “as a weapon” and turn into projectiles.

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Veteran hurricane scientists have called the US storm season so far one of the weirdest of their lives as it staggered through a recent quiet period before exploding into action with five hurricanes popping up between 26 September and 6 October.

This year scientists have considered introducing a new Category six classification as climate change is making hurricanes more frequent and more intense.

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv – as commander ‘sacked for lying about war progress’

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Ukraine war: Russia launches drone strike on Kyiv - as commander 'sacked for lying about war progress'

Russia launched a large drone attack on Kyiv overnight, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning the attack shows his capital needs better air defences.

Ukraine’s air defence units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attacks.

Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs and around 460 attack drones in the past week.

Warning that Ukraine needs to improve its air defences, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week”.

“Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state.

“But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.”

Russia did not comment on the attack.

More on Russia

It comes as Russian media reported that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the country’s southern military district, had been removed from his role over allegedly providing misleading reports about his troops’ progress.

While Russian forces have advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, forces have been much slower around Siversk and the eastern region of Donetsk.

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Russian war bloggers have long complained that units there are poorly supported and thrown into deadly battles for little tactical gain.

Russia’s ministry of defence has not commented on the reports.

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Russian forces capture ‘former British soldier’ fighting for Ukraine – reports

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Russian forces capture 'former British soldier' fighting for Ukraine - reports

Russian forces have reportedly captured a British man while he was fighting for Ukraine.

In a widely circulated video posted on Sunday, the man says his name is James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22.

He says he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after his job.

He is dressed in army fatigues and speaks with an English accent as he says to camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment.”

He tells the camera he was “just a private”, “a signalman” in “One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron”.

“When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

In a second video, he is shown with his hands tied and at one point, with tape over his eyes.

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He describes how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a “UK mercenary” had been “taken prisoner in the Kursk area” of Russia.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

The Ministry of Defence has declined to comment at this stage.

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’

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Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE - as Israeli PM says he was murdered in 'antisemitic terror incident'

The body of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who went missing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been found, Israel has said.

Zvi Kogan, the Chabad representative in the UAE, went missing on Thursday.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office on Sunday said the 28-year-old rabbi was murdered, calling it a “heinous antisemitic terror incident”.

“The state of Israel will act with all means to seek justice with the criminals responsible for his death,” it said.

On Saturday, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad said it was investigating the disappearance as suspicions arose that he had been kidnapped.

The Emirati government gave no immediate acknowledgment that Mr Kogan had been found dead. Its interior ministry has described the rabbi as being “missing and out of contact”.

“Specialised authorities immediately began search and investigation operations upon receiving the report,” the interior ministry said.

Mr Kogan lived in the UAE with his wife Rivky, who is a US citizen. He ran a Kosher grocery store in Dubai, which has been the target of online protests by pro-Palestinian supporters.

The Chabad Lubavitch movement, a prominent and highly observant branch of Orthodox Judaism, said Mr Kogan was last seen in Dubai.

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Israeli authorities reissued their recommendation against all non-essential travel to the UAE and said visitors currently there should minimise movement and remain in secure areas.

The rabbi’s disappearance comes as Iran has threatened to retaliate against Israel after the two countries traded fire in October.

While the Israeli statement on Mr Kogan did not mention Iran, Iranian intelligence services have previously carried out kidnappings in the UAE.

The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020. Since then, synagogues and businesses catering to kosher diners have been set up for the burgeoning Jewish community but the unrest in the Middle East has sparked deep anger in the country.

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